Metal Shark delivers first Defiant 85 near coastal patrol vessel to Dominican Navy.

The United States delivered the Dominican Navy’s first Near Coastal Patrol Vessel (NCPV) to support Dominican Republic’s maritime security and counter-drug missions.
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New patrol boat of Dominican Navy named Betelgeuse. (Picture source: Metal Shark)

The new Dominican Coast Guard vessel, named Betelgeuse (102), was donated by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. The vessel measures 85 feet in length and has two caterpillar engines.

In 2017, Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has been selected by the US Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for United States partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

Under the terms of the award, Metal Shark was to build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminium cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other U.S. partner nations. Additionally, Metal Shark was also to supply electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarization, and test support to NCPV operators.

Rendering of new patrol boat of Dominican Navy named Betelgeuse. (Picture source: Metal Shark)

About the Defiant 85 patrol boat:

The vessels are based on Damen Shipyards’ Stan Patrol 2606 design, tailored by Metal Shark to suit the requirements of the NCPV mission. The versatile cutter can accommodate a wide range of mission profiles including search and rescue (SAR), border patrol, police and customs duties, counter-narcotics operations, and securing waters of economic importance.

Key attributes of Damen’s Stan Patrol 2606 include excellent performance and seakeeping, large payload capacity, economical operating cost, and proven durability. Metal Shark has applied its own enhancements to Damen’s standardized patrol platform to provide the crew-friendly functionality found on other Metal Shark patrol craft.

The NCPV fleet is being built at Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana waterfront shipyard.